Penguin
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, also known as The Penguin, is a villain who was notoriously known for his bad habits as much as his love of the fine arts. He is overweight with a monocle and uses an umbrella as a weapon most of the time. The Penguin was a well-educated and clever man who wanted to be sophisticated and respected among the elite of Gotham City. He was also one of Batman's major foes in his prime. Unlike most of Batman's other adversaries, Penguin is actually sane, as he would be sent to Stonegate Penitentiary if found guilty of a certain crime, instead of Arkham Asylum where his "fellow rogues" went for treatment. History Criminal Career The Penguin first encountered Batman after he tried to steal the Vonalster Fabergé Egg. He employed two street ruffians: Jay and Raven, to steal the beautiful and priceless Egg. Batman himself was injured and nursed back to health by two children and Penguin was defeated and sent to prison.I've Got Batman in My Basement The Penguin was soon called after by Hugo Strange to attend a secretive auction. The Penguin, along with Two-Face and The Joker. Strange planned to give them the secret identity of Batman in exchange of money, but the Dark Knight thwarted his plans and managed to capture all of them, including Penguin.The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne Rise and Fall Later on, The Penguin attempted to steal a pair of rare breeding condors from the Gotham Zoo. As he was about to break in, Batman showed up and knocked him to the ground. The Penguin sprayed pollen on Batman (he claimed was a "wrong umbrella" but as it turned out, it attracted his hummingbirds in which he doused their beaks with poison). After the Dark Knight thwarted the hummingbirds, The Penguin sent his Cassowary to tear him apart. Unfortunately, Batman took one of Penguin's poison-tipped hummingbirds and poisoned the Cassowary. The Penguin was devastated and flew away on his umbrella to escape Batman. He soon retreated to an unknown night club and relaxed by playing cards with the Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and Killer Croc (who was Batman in disguise). After the gathering articulated stories of how they all had almost killed Batman (the Penguin telling about his most recent encounter), they were infuriated to know Croc was Batman all along but before they could do anything they were ambushed by police.Almost Got 'Im Eventually, Penguin was captured and arrested after a steal attempt in a museum, but months later he was released from prison, and tried to go straight. To his surprise, Penguin was called by Gotham socialite, Veronica Vreeland, who apparently wanted to befriend Penguin. They went on a couple of dates, but Penguin never realized that Vreeland was using him to attract attention from the public eye. When Penguin finally learned the truth, he kidnapped Veronica and forced her friend Pierce Chapman to deliver the ransom money. Penguin almost succeeded on stealing from them before killing them, but Batman arrived in time to stop Penguin's crime. Despite Penguin's behaviour, his efforts to go straight were genuine, but the circumstances were not in his favor and he blamed Veronica and her kind for his downfall.Birds of a Feather Penguin resurfaced later and he learned about Earl Cooper and his close activities with the Dark Knight as the vigilante's mechanic. Penguin blackmailed Cooper by kidnapping his daughter, Marva Cooper in order to get control of the Batmobile. Despite his initial success, Penguin's plan was eventually thwarted by Batman, as usual.The Mechanic Later, Penguin took control of a Wayne Tech test helicopter, the Raven X1-11, blinding Bruce Wayne in the process. He kept it for ransom and Batman arranged a plan with Hamilton Hill to double-cross Penguin. During the confrontation, Penguin managed to bring down Batman's plane, the Batwing and followed the blind Batman into an steel mill. Penguin had Batman cornered, but the Dark Knight found a way to stop Penguin and Oswald was arrested for good.Blind as a Bat A while later, he ordered that a stuffed extinct type of penguin The Ventriloquist had available. They tried to get him interested in other stuffed creatures they stole from the Vreeland exhibit (in which The Penguin had from his feud with Veronica Vreeland earlier). He never got his penguin as Batman and Catwoman interfered with the Ventriloquist's plans. The Penguin and Two-Face had an apparent fight and Two-Face stole a rare Avis from Penguin and double-crossed him. With this reasoning, he was interrogated at Stonegate by Batman for Two-Face's kidnapping. The Penguin insisted he was not to blame and set his birds on Batman in a vain attempt to kill him, but Batman escaped, leaving the Penguin back in his cell. Weaponry The Penguin has a huge selection of Umbrella weapons and flight apparatuses and stand as his most recognizable trademark. His Umbrellas were controlled by an unseen button on the handle and could be deadly and/or deceiving. He was also known to carry a hidden machine gun hidden under an umbrella case for emergencies. Appearances * I've Got Batman In My Basement * The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne * Dreams In Darkness (cameo) * Almost Got 'Im * The Mechanic * Birds of a Feather * Blind as a Bat * Second Chance * Riddler's Reform (cameo) Video Games *Batman: The Animated Series (Game Boy) *The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES) Notes * Cobblepot's origins were never explored directly in the TV series, but in the Batman Series Writers Bible it states that he spent his youth sheltered by his mother, who owned a pet store. He was made fun of by others for his short, chubby appearance, long nose and flipper like hands. By his late twenties Cobblepot was still living and working at his mother's pet store when it was vandalised by a local street gang. Many animals were hurt and the event caused Mrs. Cobblepot to have a stroke. Infuriated, Oswald hired a rival gang, using the shop's insurance money and wreaked revenge upon them. As a result the gang was crushed and his new allies became one of the city's most profitable gangs, giving The Penguin control of the whole neighbourhood. Trivia *Due to its release time, The Penguin's appearance is very close to that in the Batman Returns movie at the behest of Warner Bros. He otherwise spoke and behaved like the more refined version from the comic books. *The Penguin was the only character allowed to smoke in the series, outside of the gangsters in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. References Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Villains Category:Main Villains Category:Bad Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Stonegate Penitentiary Inmates